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Jerry's Guitars
    Jerry's Art


The Jerry Garcia Guitars at Auction

Guernsey's - the auction house known for such high profile events as the Graceland (Elvis Presley) Auction and the baseball sale that featured Mark McGwire's $3 million ball, enthusiastically announces an unprecedented auction focusing on the Grateful Dead and Jerry Garcia's remarkable guitars. The auction will be held on May 8, 2002 in New York City following a variety of preview activities celebrating the life of the beloved musician.

Although the auction will be presenting an array of rare and desirable Grateful Dead artifacts, the auction is really about Tiger and Wolf, the fabulous guitars that millions of "Deadheads" (passionate Grateful Dead followers) came to view as unparalleled icons. Currently, the guitars are owned by Doug Irwin, the master guitar maker who's work Jerry Garcia so admired. In his will, Garcia left the guitars to Mr. Irwin who had devoted many years of his life creating them. Several surviving members of the Grateful Dead contested the will, but a court confirmed Mr. Irwin's right of ownership. The guitars are now being sold to allow Irwin to create a new woodworking shop where he can continue crafting his extremely fine creations for clients in the future. (Several years ago, Mr. Irwin was involved in a bad accident leaving him in critical condition. Recovery expenses exhausted his assets.)

Through the latter years of the twentieth century, Rock & Roll-era guitars increasingly became the center of attention at pop cultural auctions. However, it is unlikely that any have had the magnetism of Tiger and Wolf. Most rock musicians play instruments for limited periods, continually opting to move on to newer, improved models. Jerry Garcia was very much the exception, playing only a handful of instruments throughout his three-decade-long career. So identified were his guitars that his followers called them by name. (Tiger and Wolf were named for the exquisite mother-of-pearl and ivory inlaid animal images Doug Irwin created on the guitar bodies.) It has been said that there are Deadheads who can discern - simply by ear - which instrument Jerry is using in his many recordings. Wolf was used throughout the early part of Jerry's career, while Tiger - which took six years to craft (Jerry had commissioned Doug to create the very finest instrument he was capable of making) - was used by Jerry in his very final concerts. In one of several articles that have appeared about Jerry Garcia and the Doug Irwin guitars in Guitar Player (there have been numerous articles about this subject in many other popular magazines as well), it was said about Tiger: "Garcia produced more notes with the Tiger than any other guitar, using it exclusively for the next 11 years. 'When I picked up that guitar,' Garcia said 'I'd never felt anything before - or since - that my hand likes better.' " Wolf was the first guitar Jerry Garcia commissioned from Doug Irwin. Once in the musician's hands, Garcia rarely used guitars other than the creations of Mr. Irwin.

In addition to the guitars, there will be many rare Grateful Dead items to intrigue the participants of this auction. A small sampling includes original paintings created by Jerry Garcia, original handwritten lyrics for the Grateful Dead, the rarest of Dead posters and (even rarer) proof sheets and the original artwork for several posters. There will be two wonderful Grateful Dead photographic collections (both consisting of images never previously published.) The first is by Roberto Rabanne, a highly regarded professional photographer whose images of the Dead (and many other rock celebrities) are widely recognizable, while the second collection is by Robert Cohn, known for his joyous, candid images of the Dead in concert. The only other rock artist included in this unique auction is Janis Joplin. With many links to the Grateful Dead, material from Janis adds an extra element of excitement to an event that by any account has to be viewed as a somewhat wild affair.

As this is being written, Guernsey's is preparing a comprehensive catalogue documenting Tiger, Wolf and the other exciting objects in the auction. The book (which is likely to become a collector's item in its own right) will include extensive text and numerous exciting photographs which clearly should have interest for Deadheads and others whose lives were affected by the unique talent that was Jerry Garcia. To acquire the catalogue, discuss the possibility of late consignment or arrange to become a bidder at the auction, please contact Guernsey's: 212-794-2280; fax 212-744-3638; guernseysny@aol.com.

Jerry's Guitars    Jerry's Art



  

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Photos by Roberto Rabanne

 



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